Health

It's the time of year when we check in with the experts at the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. Home economist Alice Coffey joined Dick Nov. 22 to talk all things turkey. And as Alice says, people do incredibly unusual things with their turkeys. You can reach Butterball at 1 800 288 8372 (1 800 BUTTERBALL) or at their website.

Kay Grindland is director of Care Partners in Cook County, which works to support people with serious illness or those at end of life, as well as their caregivers. She and her colleague Debi LaMusga joined Dick Nov. 15 to talk about palliative (or comfort) care, how it works, why it's important, and more. November is National Palliative Care Awareness Month.

Football and concussions have been in the news more and more lately. Dr. Andrew Peterson of the U of Iowa Sports Medicine department joined Buck recently to talk about a new study they're undertaking on youth football and concussion. Find out about what a concussion is, why it's dangerous, and what the study is attempting to learn.

Diane Wilson is executive director of Dream of Wild Health, a St. Paul nonprofit working to collect and save seeds once cultivated by Indian communities and, in the process, improve health and teach young people about food and well-being. Buck spoke with her Oct. 4 about what they do and why it's important to Native American health.

Dick Swanson spoke recently with Dr. Yi-Yuan Tang, director of Texas Tech's Neuroimaging Institute, about new research showing that practicing a type of mindfulness meditation known as Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) can help smokers cut their habit way down. Dr. Tang describes the study and the meditation technique in detail. You can learn more here.

Ann Possis spoke Aug. 9 with Evan Chinoy, a grad student at the U of Colorado-Boulder who does most of his work in the Sleep & Chronobiology Lab. He conducted a study recently showing that a week out camping, away from all artificial light, adjusts a person's internal clock and helps them get up earlier.

Dr. Edward Laskowski, co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center, shares his ideas about the recent trend toward very short, intense workouts, as well as recommendations for how to incorporate exercise into your daily life. Ann Possis spoke with him July 19.

Dr. Keith Sanford, professor of psychology & neuroscience at Baylor University, talked with Dick Swanson July 12 about his research into couples conflict. The most common thing couples want from each other is not an apology, or even more communication--it's a willingness to relinquish power. You can learn more about resolving couples conflict here.

Bob spoke May 10 with Dr. Anthony King, research assistant professor of psychiatry at the U of Michigan, about his recent study showing that mindfulness therapy might help vets with combat-related PTSD. Mindfulness techniques emphasize focus and attention to positive experiences and nonjudgmental acceptance to one’s thoughts and emotions. Listen to learn about PTSD, mindfulness, and more.